Disclosed in each of U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,978 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,223 is a known connector assembly for optical fibers comprising: a holder for holding at least two optical fibers optically coupled such that light signals emanated from an end of one of the optical fibers is transmitted into an end of at least one other of the optical fibers. The known connector assembly further comprises, a holder for holding two or more optical fibers in front of a curved mirror such that light signals emanated from one of the optical fibers is reflected by the mirror into at least one other of the optical fibers. According to the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,978, the optical fibers are assembled into holes of the holder. Particles and other contaminants would fall to the bottoms of the holes, and would become interposed between ends of the optical fibers and the mirror to obscure light signals that are desired to emanate from or enter into the ends of the optical fibers. According to the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,477, optical fibers push debris into a slot that is always enclosed by cover members also that enclose the optical fibers. Although debris can move into the slot, the slot is enclosed and can not be flushed prior to covering the optical fibers and the mirror from further contamination. Accordingly, the debris remains as contamination in the slot, whether air or index matching gel fills the slot prior to covering the slot with the cover members. A need exists in the known connector assembly for a feature that will permit flushing contaminants prior to covering the optical fibers and the mirror from further contamination. A further need exists for a window to observe that the optical fibers are positioned properly for efficient optical coupling.
A disadvantage present in the known connector assembly results from the lack of a grip that will grip the optical fibers to hold them in place while a clamp is applied to close and clamp the fibers in place. Without a grip, the optical fibers can be dislodged from their desired positions while cover members, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,477, are moved against the optical fibers to clamp them. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,978, no grip is provided to hold the optical fibers in place and preventing them from being dislodged while a threaded nut is driven to clamp them.
Another disadvantage results from a lack of assurance that the optical fibers will remain at precise locations from a transparent object, such as a curved mirror or another optical fiber, when dimensional changes occur with fluctuations in temperature.
According to the invention, a connector assembly for holding an optical fiber and a transparent object comprises, a holder for holding an end of an optical fiber against a transparent object, and the optical fiber is curved along its length to obtain inherent spring energy and impart pressure between the end of the optical fiber and a precisely located surface of the transparent object. The curvature of the optical fiber will change in response to dimensional changes of the holder and the transparent object with fluctuations in temperature, to retain pressure between the optical fiber and the surface. Thereby, the end of the optical fiber is maintained at a precise location, and the transparent object is maintained at a precise location.